Many restaurants which serve beef, pork, lamb, or veal steaks must slice individual portions of meat from a loin. The loins can vary in weight from 10 lb to 30 lb, but the loins generally have the same width and density throughout a certain type of meat. So, the restaurant will have loins that vary widely in weight, height, and length, but the restaurant has to produce portions of meat that are consistent with what the customer ordered. The variance of the loins makes it impossible for restaurants to have consistent portions or maintain cost-control.
Currently, many restaurants experience up to twenty percent waste when slicing portions of meat from a loin to serve to guests. The chef currently has to roughly estimate how thick to slice a portion of meat without using a device. This leads to error and waste if the chef slices a portion that is not thick enough, because they cannot serve a portion that weighs less than what the customer has ordered from the restaurant. The resulting waste makes it difficult for restaurants to estimate costs and profits from steaks, and steaks are often the most expensive item in a meal.
Therefore, it is believed that there is a need and a potential commercial market for an improved method with which to determine how thick to slice a portion of meat from the loin so that the portion weighs the desired weight.